Card of Heart

Chapter 4 - Coruscant

Author's Note: Enjoy the romance and fluff while it lasts. ;)

~ Amina Gila

It's strange, being here in the center of the Republic like this and going to the Senate of the organization he so long opposed. It's late in the day by the time Lux finally finishes up with his Senate work for the day – honestly, it's earlier than usual – and heads out into the waiting room outside of his office.

"Got any time right now?"

The familiar voice yanks him out of his thoughts, and he spins to see Ahsoka standing there.

"Ahsoka!" Lux exclaims. He hasn't seen her since back on Onderon. It's been a while since then. "I'm glad you were able to come."

"I'm glad you finally came out of that office," she snips, grinning at him, "I was here to see Padme, so I figured I'd drop by to see if you were available."

"You can feel free to call me any time," Lux replies with a smile.

"So, what do you think of Coruscant?"

"It wasn't what I expected," he admits, "It's... a lot busier than Raxus."

"Raxus is newly a capital, and much smaller," she offers, "I can imagine being here takes some getting used to if you haven't lived here your whole life."

Right. Like Ahsoka did. "I can't imagine what that would be like," Lux grimaces. Onderon had many trees and wildlife, and that's what he's well accustomed to. Coruscant is the exact opposite in every way.

"It's not so bad," Ahsoka chirps. They move over to the window, standing side by side as Lux watches the passing traffic for a few moments. "How the Republic Senate compared to the Separatist one?"

"There's... way more people, so it does take a lot longer to get anything done," he admits. Now that he's joined the Republic, he can see all over again the corruption that his mother wanted to avoid. He can see why she wanted to start over. But with Dooku leading the Separatists, they're far more corrupt than the Republic, and staying neutral isn't going to work. "The Republic has a lot of problems, and I can see that a lot more clearly now," he admits, "But I think it can be fixed." At least he can hope so.

"Yeah," Ahsoka agrees, "I've never understood much about Senate stuff, though, so that's probably something you want to talk to Padme about."

Lux chuckles. "Yeah. It's good being able to see her again, too."

"How well did you two used to know each other?" she inquires curiously.

"My mother was like her mentor. I suppose she could've been a lot like an older sister if I'd actually known her for long enough."

"Oh," Ahsoka replies, "Master Anakin brings me here to see Padme all the time, so we're pretty good friends."

"So I figured, from your illegal trip sneaking onto Raxus," he deadpans.

"Yeah, don't mention it."

"How have things been... with the Jedi?"

"The same old," Ahsoka responds, "We're going to be leaving on another mission for Cato Neimoidia soon, and I doubt we'll be back for a while."

Lux reaches over, taking her hand, and she squeezes his in return. "We could still send messages, if you ever have time. Just take care of yourself."

"You too. And don't become like Padme."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Putting her Senate work above anything and everything, including any reasonable sense regarding her own health and safety."